Meeting to solve subway conflict postponed until Monday

A meeting summoned by the Labour Ministry with the aim of solving the Subway wage conflict has been postponed and will take place at 11 am Monday at the Ministry headquarters.

Concessionary company Metrovías, Transport Workers Union (UTA) and breakaway union AGTSYP and Subterráneos de Buenos Aires (City’s subway organization) had been summoned for a meeting on Friday afternoon in order to solve wage talks, which have stalled and caused a 36 hour subway strike on Wednesday and Thursday.

The City Government’s involvement in the meetings is key, because due to a previous absence a meeting was cancelled.

The UTA and union delegates accuse Metrovías of complicating talks by not presenting proposals, while the concessionary company demands that the City Government gets involved in the negotiations, which Macri’s administration refuses to do.

In a statement, Metrovías blasted the City Government for not contributing with 50 percent of the subsidy- the other half is paid by President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner’s administration,- and of increasing the fare by 127 percent, from 1.10 pesos to 2.50 pesos, and thus causing a 20 percent decrease in passengers.

“If Metrovías says it has the money to pay, we go to the Labour Ministry and end everything,” AGTSyP Secretary Néstor Segovia assured, and explained that the trouble lies in the fact that Metrovías demands the City Government is involved in the negotiations.

Following the 36-hour strike held by subway workers, breakaway subway union, AGTSyP repeated their demand today for Buenos Aires City Government authorities to attend the wage bargaining talks, in order to stop them from carrying out further strikes next week.